A 33-year-old hiker named Anthony Pollio was the victim of a fatal bear attack in Glacier National Park in West Glacier, Montana.
This happened on May 3, with a search being initiated to find Anthony before it was known he had been killed.
Several area agencies assisted in efforts to locate Anthony, but, tragically, his remains were found three days later, on May 6.
The National Park Service said at the time that Anthony’s injuries were “consistent with those sustained by a bear encounter,” but an investigation started to confirm the cause of the hiker’s death.
Now, in the week of July 20, the National Park Service has released its full report on the incident, confirming it was a bear attack… and sharing harrowing details from the scene.
Prior to this bear attack, the last fatal bear attack at Glacier National Park was in 1998.
Investigation Into Tragic Death Of Hiker Reveals Harrowing Details
Reader discretion advised.
On July 20, the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee confirmed Anthony was killed by a grizzly bear.
Releasing its report on the incident, it outlined a timeline of events, while also looking to the evidence found on location to confirm the circumstances of his death.
With his last known communication with anyone being at 8:20 p.m., Anthony was believed to still be ascending the mountain as it began to get dark.
“Evidence at the scene indicated that Mr. Pollio surprised the bear at close quarters while descending the mountain in the dark,” the report states. “After the attack, the bear left the area.”
His body was located days later on Mt. Brown Trail, approximately “50 feet off the trail in a densely wooded area with downed timber,” National Park Service noted.
Here, the report’s description of the injuries sustained by Anthony are detailed:
“The victim sustained extensive trauma to the left side of his head and face. Significant structural damage was present, including the loss of portions of facial tissue and underlying bone. Despite the severity of the injuries, some facial features remained identifiable. The damage exposed internal structures of the skull, indicating the force of the incident. There was what appeared to be a shallow claw slash mark across the victim’s neck, and numerous bite marks on the victim’s torso and thighs.”
While “no bear were observed or detected during the search [for Anthony],” claw marks were observed on a burned tree, with displaced stones indicating the believed origin of the bear’s attack.
Measuring the spacing of the wounds also helped identify that it was from a grizzly.
DNA taken from the scene (from hair and scat samples) helped to identify that this bear was a male of at least 15 years old, as the bear was registered in the NCDE grizzly bear monitoring database in 2011.
This bear is believed to be “a life-long resident of the park and does not have a conflict history, capture history, or known history of aggression towards people.”
The report goes on to note that the attack did not end there, stating:
“Based on blood marks and the orientation of branches, it appears as though Mr. Pollio managed to climb back up slope approximately 18 ft at which point the bear re-engaged and inflicted the fatal bites to [Anthony’s] head.”
No autopsy was conducted on Anthony, with the coroner noting the external injuries. The coroner also included in the report that “there were no defensive wounds or injuries on [Anthony’s] hands.”
Read the full report on Anthony’s death, here.
Anthony’s Father Shares His Son’s Final Message
Shortly after Anthony was found dead, his father, Arthur Pollio, spoke with NBC6 about the tragedy.
Noting that Anthony was traveling with a friend, Arthur said that the were on a two-week road trip that included a hike through Glacier National Park.
“It was a road trip through central U.S., Texas, Arizona, Nevada, Wyoming to get to Montana, and I believe he pulled right into Glacier National Park,” Arthur said.
Continuing, Arthur then shared what his son texted him before his death:
“He texted me that evening, he says, ‘Dad, I’m hiking up a mountain. It’s wild out here … I love you, Dad,’ and that was the last message I received from him.”
At the time of Arthur’s statement, the death of Anthony was still under investigation, but he shared some of what he had learned from officials, saying, “Based from the coroner’s report on his injuries, we believe he came across a grizzly bear, and he used all of his bear spray. Because they went back there even several days later when they found him in that area was very odorous from the bear spray.”
Speaking on his son, Arthur concluded his remarks to NBC6, stating, “He was a warrior. He was a gladiator. He was a Viking. He would never give up.”
According to his father, Anthony was from Davie, Florida, but most recently called Sebring, Florida, his home. It was there that he served as a deacon at his church, according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
He was a graduate of University of Central Florida and played soccer for the Archdiocese of Miami.
